Artists

Steve Aitchison - potter

I believe we create in response to the seasons of our lives. My current work is crafted by fire. I find that it has a confident and contemplative presence.

My “Cloud Vessels” are formed on the potter’s wheel and ‘smoke fired’ in an open outdoor kiln using a variety of organic fuels. In this process of controlled risk, the ethereal imagery created in the ebb and flow of the fire is captured on the classic forms, like paint on canvas.

I don’t claim to have any really new ideas about form, color or surface, just a unique modern interpretation of the medium.

MARY ANNE BEGG - POTTER

My artwork reflects my love and respect for Nature, especially the oak tree. I enjoy working in the medium of clay and find satisfaction and a connection with the earth when carving and shaping the leaves used primarily to decorate my pots. The undulating curves of oak leaves and the sturdy gnarled tree trunks and branches reaching outwards and upwards to form a nearly perfect circular shape continue to fascinate me. I am always searching in the fall for that “perfect” oak leaf-thus my longtime interest in using leaves with my pots. I hope that people enjoy looking at my work and using my pots in their everyday lives. No two pieces, like no two oak leaves, are the same; each piece is hand carved and decorated by adding the leaves to leather hard thrown or hand built clay. Stoneware pieces are fired to Cone 10 in a gas kiln and are food, oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe.

STEVE BOYD - POTTER

Being an art teacher for thirty-five years, I’ve been able to experience many disciplines. Pottery, stained glass, watercolor, drawing, batik, printmaking, collage and woodcarving were some that I enjoyed the most.

While clay receives most of my focus now, I continue to work in many media. I think the common thread through all of the media is that I enjoy the manipulation of the media. While I strive to make pottery that is functional seeing what the clay can do with form, texture and color is also quite enjoyable.

Maureen Burke - painter

My work as an artist often references the human body and the natural world. I am also interested in the issues of memory and the hidden/revealed. I use layering of color, pattern and/or imagery to develop surfaces that explore these ideas.

YOUNGMI CHO - POTTER

I love to work with the wheel. Through clay’s medium, I try to capture the simplicity and natural beauty of the environment that surrounds us. With each of my pieces, I attempt to bring a smile to the viewers.

callie clark-wiren

Jacqueline Comito

CAROLINE FREESE – POTTER

I categorize myself as a multimedia artist. I focused in ceramics and woodworking at Iowa State University, graduated in 2016, and pursued an interest in developing a business and a brand. I have an interest in many different areas of fine art, but connect all of them with my interest in animals and bring animal art into many homes.

In 2017 I focused on my business, Caroline Freese Designs, and completed over 200 original animal paintings on wood. Using these unique designs and computer tools I create reproducible products like coloring books and greeting cards. I also take this imagery and apply it to my pottery using printed decals.

My pottery is often whimsical, but functional. With modern forms and simple palettes, I hope to continue expanding my brand through ceramics.

Jennifer Garst

Arka Ghosh - potter

After taking a few classes from other CASA members (Greg Lamont, Mary Weisgram) at different times in the last 10 years and practicing at Iowa State Workspace, I joined CASA full time in 2019. I would describe my pottery as whimsical, sometimes functional, and mostly non-repetitive. I like playing with clay and find it cheaper than therapy.

ANA GOMEZ - potter

In my country, Spain, food is more than a mere physiological need; meals are a social event. I started cooking at a very early age and was fascinated not only by the cooking process but also by the pots and pans and plates and bowls. Most of my pieces relate to food, to the process of creating a meal, from preparation and cooking to serving and presenting it to the table.

My initial contact with clay was in hand building and sculpture, first in Germany during my college years and later in Mexico. When my husband and I moved to Pennsylvania, I enrolled in some pottery classes that opened a new world of possibilities.

Now, CASA provides not only studio space and equipment, but also a nurturing environment that encourages my artistic growth.

Rebecca Hedlund

DONNA HOFF GRAMBAU - potter

Fascinated throughout life's journey with the process of creating and expressing both the interior and exterior landscapes through the expressive arts and written work, my visual work integrates and celebrates a diversity of experiences through media including clay, fiber, plants, and more. I studied clay and paper-making at Central Michigan University and Wayne State University, as well as fiber with Joan Livingstone at the Cleveland Institute of Art. I have organized exhibits, presented interactive workshops, and facilitated adult and children' art activities.

My work is an expression of my seeing, my creative dialogue with the universe, and my environment. Rather than a static statement, my work intends to draw the viewer in, to become an interaction that is vibrant and captures our transformation in the process of discovery. As Marc Chagall claimed, in our life there is a single color, as on an artist's palette, which which provides the meaning of life and art. It is the color of love.

Lisa Homann

Carol Jacobs

Lucky Kim - HANJI PAPER ART

Lucky Kim, originally from Korea, makes traditional Korean paper (hanji) art. Hanji is made from mulberry trees. Hanji art is native to Korea, but since she moved to America, Lucky has developed her own style, mixing American culture with traditional Korean techniques. She enjoys making boxes, ornaments, and more with hanji.

She also likes to play with wood and felt.

GREGory LAMONT - POTTER

My work references Korean and Japanese folk pottery traditions and their influence on western potterymaking in the last half-century. I make vessels that relate primarily to the preparation and serving of food and drink, and the beautification of one’s surroundings. I believe a substantial part of the beauty of handmade pottery lies in its use, and the pottery I create is intended to take an active part in one’s daily life. I strive to create pottery that is fresh and alive in its form, color and surface, and performs its intended function well.

My journey in pottery began in a ceramics class during my sophomore year in college in 1972. In the ensuing years, I took occasional pottery classes at various community art centers and, following a move to Ames, Iowa, I joined the legion of “basement potters”. Then, in 2001, I had the opportunity to establish an artists’ cooperative, Creative Artists’ Studios of Ames (CASA), with some other local artists. Pottery making is quiet and personal experience that I want to be reflected in the pots themselves. Now, however, I am also a potter in a community of artists working in a variety of media and work alongside both students and peers. It is now hard to imagine myself as a solitary potter.

Being a potter is a very balanced profession. As a potter I am a designer, a maker, a business owner, a laborer, a chemist, and a physicist. Every day I am able to share my knowledge, experience, resources and perspective with my fellow artists and students at CASA and the Iowa State University Workspace. As part of a university community I’ve been given many opportunities to teach students with diverse talents and backgrounds. Teaching allows me to experiment with new ideas and perspectives, challenging myself as I challenge my students.

My wish is that you will sense the excitement and pleasure that potterymaking continues to give me and appreciate your continued support of CASA and its artists and craftspersons.

LINDA LEWIS LIEBERMAN - POTTER

Linda Lewis Lieberman has had art as an avocation or vocation for her entire life. Raised in art Community, Saugatuck, Michigan, Cora Bliss Taylor, a noted post-impressionist, was her first art teacher. She discovered pottery and ceramics in the early 80s and worked with Pete Pinnell. She went back to teaching math in the 90s and, now retired, is very glad to again be able to do ceramics. Linda still paints, does photography, is a semi-professional musician, folkdance leader, basket maker and celebrator of the arts. She has been a member since 2010.

Kelly Mahoney

MICHELLE MULLEN - POTTER

I am a parent, teacher, mentor, and artist. I’ve learned to express myself as a potter. I mold clay into vessels. It’s therapeutic, gratifying and inspiring.

Teaching children to be self-expressive in clay helps define who they are. When they create ‘works of art,’ it feeds a hunger to succeed. They find inner peace in areas of their lives that might be lacking. Working with clay and intermingling with others can diminish inhibitions and nurture social skills.

LINDA ROSA - CERAMICS

As an accountant for the University of Wyoming, I was given the opportunity to take a class of my choosing each semester. The first class I took, even though I had never taken an art class before, was a ceramics class where we were exposed to multiple clay methods. Ceramics gave me a means to step away from my “accountant world” and move toward creative expression. I quickly became addicted to the joy of creating and took a different ceramics class every semester after that.

Most of my work is functional. I want people to use and enjoy my work and not just display it or tuck it away for special occasions. At times I also make sculptural work, including large solar-lit lighthouses for outdoor use.

When my husband and I moved to Ames, I was thrilled to learn about CASA and to find the space and opportunity to continue my work. I’ve been able to learn from other potters at the studio and thoroughly enjoy the camaraderie.

Emily Ross

RUBEN RUIZ - POTTER

Ruben was born in Mexico where his love for the arts began even before he started elementary school. He experimented with various mediums until he began attending the Irvine Fine Arts Center in Irvine, California, where he came into contact with clay. It was then that he discovered that the vases, pots and plates he created on the wheel were the best canvases for him to express himself in art.

At the first touch of clay Ruben discovered his abilities to sculpt and continue his appreciation for nature. That appreciation shows in his pieces. Whether a branch of a tree, flowers or a reptile, he always tries to bring the spirit of what he sees around him to his work.

Joy Sabl

RUTH SOSEMAN – POTTER

I am a retired hairstylist and a potter. I live and work in Nevada. In 1997, I mentioned to one of my clients that I wanted to start quilting or learn to make pottery, and she suggested I contact The Octagon. Pottery won out and I fell in love with clay that first lesson. Little by little, I have learned to be disciplined, productive and artistic, and have made many new friends along the way.

I’ve been doing a lot of hand building lately, taking a break from the wheel, and it’s been fun trying new ideas with texture, slips and oxides, learning from my mistakes along the way. We all support and help each other in many ways to make our little artists’ community the great place that it is.

KELLIE STAKER – POTTER

I started ceramics in 2000 after having a horse break my thumb. I chose ceramics as a form of physical therapy. I wasn’t sure if throwing pots was going to do the trick after having a plate and 5 screws put in and losing the mobility of all 3 joints. Soon after I started wedging clay and doing some hand-building of pots I was starting to notice a significant difference in mobility and usability of my hand. As the semester went on and the class was getting more involved in using the wheel I was noticing that I had complete use of my thumb. I have to say it wasn’t easy though, every night I would go home with a throbbing hand, but the doctor told me it wasn’t going to be easy if I wanted my thumb to be 100 percent.

It was this experience that got me hooked to this great hobby and I absolutely love making different forms of pottery. I really want to learn all I can while helping others here at CASA.

Michael Tate

MIRIAM TATE - POTTER

I find inspiration for my work in nature, the human figure and in childhood memories, growing up in my native country Ecuador. Each piece of work that I create is a reflection of my life and the relationships with others, whether family or friends.

In my crystalline work, I tend to use blue hues as my connection with the deep blue ocean, but also thinking in warm and sunny days and starry nights.

I joined CASA in February of 2010, as a way to continue developing my art and with the idea of using the studio as my second home. I look forward to meeting all the members and cultivating lasting relationships.

If you have a passion for crystalline work or sculpting the human body, feel free to contact me.

Julian Trachsel

MARY WEISGRAM – POTTER

Mary Weisgram, a Minnesota native educated at the College of St. Benedict and Mankato State University, has worked professionally in Iowa since 1969.

Her current body of work is influenced by her years rambling in the woods of southern Minnesota. The pieces reflect her love of organic textures and the colors of the woodland floor, fossils and stones. Trained first as a painter, she uses vessel forms layered with engobes, stains and glazes as a canvas for translating these “fossils” of her childhood.

Caroline Westort

LEE ANNE WILLSON – ORIGAMI, PHOTO, & TEXTILE ARTIST

Just as some people need music, I need color. Currently my favorite media are paper (from folding to photography) and fiber. I also like mixing methods: printing and folding photographs, using photographs for panels on hats.

My art background includes design classes in college and a number of 1-week intensive summer classes at the University of Minnesota Split Rock program. Before CASA formed, I took classes at the Octagon intermittently for 25 years, including painting, life drawing, and clay. What CASA provides complements the offerings of the Octagon for adult artists: It provides a space to work at any time of day or night and a community of fellow artists who support and inspire each other.

My day job as an astronomer inspires some of my work, and the experience I gained serving on astronomical non-profit boards has found application in the organization of Creatives Artists' Studios of Ames.

NORMA WOLFF

Although most of my paintings are abstract, I draw upon my life experiences as artist, anthropologist, and observer of life for subject matter. Over the past forty years I have done anthropological research in West Africa that focuses upon continuity and change in indigenous and contemporary arts and religion, as well as indigenous medicine. From my first trip to Nigeria in the mid-1960s, I have loved the colors and dynamics of everyday life which provide endless varieties of subject matter for the artist.

I work in several mediums: watercolor, acrylics, wax pastel and ink. Recently I have been reinterpreting my paintings digitally to create variations on the originals. In addition, I am experimenting with collaging with fragments of my ‘failed’ artwork.